South Africa's tax collections have increased from R113.8 billion in 1994/95 to R1.7 trillion in 2023/24, according to the Tax Statistics report from the National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
The tax collections increased between 1994/95 and 2023/24, at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.9% and an average tax-to-GDP ratio of 22.2%.
In the 2023/24 fiscal year, SA's tax authority collected:
- R2.2 trillion in gross tax revenue, R87.0 billion or 4.2% more than the previous year
- refunded taxes worth R413.9 billion, R32.8 billion or 8.6% more than in the year prior
- netted tax revenue amounting to R1.7 trillion, R54.2 billion or 3.2% more than in the year before
According to the report, the 2023/24 fiscal year saw a sharp decline in Company Income Tax (CIT) revenue, particularly in the mining sector..
This was due to low commodity prices, which cancelled out the revenue gains from the elevated commodity prices over the past two years.
Plus weak global growth, persistent power outages, and logistical disruptions had an impact on the sector.
Statistics for CIT showed that, out of the 1,166,692 companies that were assessed by August 31, 2024 for the 2022 tax year, 20.7% declared a positive taxable income, 54.6% had taxable income equal to zero, and the remaining 24.7% reported an assessed loss.
549 of the companies that were assessed were large companies that each had taxable income of more than R200 million and were liable for 66.5% of the CIT assessed
Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenue growth was moderate as consumers continued to deal with financial constraints due to high interest rates, which eroded disposable household income and expenditure.
In 2023/24, of the 488,118 vendors that are VAT active, 80.9% were companies and close corporations. These vendors contributed 93.2% to Domestic VAT payments and received 92.2% of the VAT refunds paid.
Individuals (sole proprietors) made up 11.7% of active VAT vendors and they contributed 1.7% to Domestic VAT payments while they received 0.7% of the VAT refunds paid.
The report showed that Personal Income Tax (PIT) revenue was buoyant supported by a recovery in employment and earnings.
By March, 31 2023T, the PIT register had increased annually by 4.5% to 25.9 million individuals and then a further 4.3% to 27.1 million at the end of March 2024.
PIT, geographic, demographic, and other analyses of the assessments of the taxpayers who had been assessed by 9 September 2024 for the 2023 tax year showed that:
- 2,361,099 of assessed taxpayers were registered in Gauteng.
- 855,274 of assessed taxpayers lived in the Johannesburg Metro and were taxed on an average taxable income of R484 672.
- 1,775,779 of assessed taxpayers were from 35 to 44 years old
- 3,495,942 of assessed taxpayers were male while 3,148,808 were female.
Sars is going to make it hard and costly for taxpayers who fail to meet their obligations, according to the report.
Compliance revenue secured from focused activities and efforts by Sars resulted in R260.5 billion being collected for the 2023/24 fiscal year, which was R53.0 billion or 25.5% more than in the preceding year.
Import VAT and Customs Duties accounted for 15.2% and 4.1% of the year’s Total Tax Revenue, respectively. In aggregate, these revenue sources made up 19.3% of Total Tax Revenue, which was higher than the 17.7% average gained over the preceding five fiscal years.
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (MPRR) payments by extractors decreased by R9.4 billion (36.9%) from R25.3 billion in 2022/23 to R16.0 billion in 2023/24 due to a decline in commodity prices, particularly platinum group metals (PGMs) and coal.
However, improved gold and iron-ore prices offset the decline in MPRR payments.
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